Updated 18.50
KATIE WALSH IS determined that she will ride in Saturday’s Grand National despite suffering a nasty fall on the opening day of the 2017 Aintree Festival.
Initial information from Aintree indicated that Walsh had broken her arm after a crashing fall in the Foxhunters’ Chase on Thursday.
The injury was expected to rule her out of the Grand National, where she is in line to partner 40/1 shot Wonderful Charm.
But following further assessment at Liverpool’s Aintree Hospital, her sister and agent Jennifer Walsh confirmed to The42: “All good. It’s not broken.”
“All x -rays clear!” Katie tweeted herself. “Just a bit of bruising. Roll on Saturday.”
Walsh was on board Distime in the Foxhunters’, which is run over the iconic Grand National fences, but the pair came crashing down at the third fence — The Chair.
An initial statement from Aintree said that ”Katie Walsh… has a broken arm and will miss the ride on Wonderful Charm in Saturday’s Randox Health Grand National.”
She was attended to on the course before being taken to hospital for further assessment on her arm and x-rays, which came back clear.
Nick Scholfield was in line to replace her in the Grand National, but a clearly upbeat Walsh believes that she will be fit to race on Saturday.
– An earlier version of this article reported the initial statement that Walsh had broken her arm; it has since been updated with details from Jennifer and Katie Walsh.
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